Dear friends,

How can a thin, all but abandoned woman, with nothing but a crumbling mud hut, manage her two young children, already puffy with signs of malnutrition?Can you make something out of nothing?It's not likely.But here in the DRC, in spite of extreme poverty, the destruction of years of war, and political corruption, there are Congolese Christians who are courageous enough to take Jesus seriously when he said to his disciples," You give them something to eat" (Mark 6:37). I visited the hospital at Vanga this November, where I crossed paths with a few of these people.

Mr. Willy Masieta, a nutritionist at the Vanga Hospital, admits he wonders daily how you make something out of nothing.I sat on the back of his motor cycle, under heavy rain clouded skies, on our way to visit 2 villages: Kikoshi and Mutanga, some distance from Vanga. A thunderstorm had washed the atmosphere crystal clear.As I clung to Willy's back, lifting my feet above the mud puddles, I could see for miles down the Kwilu river valley.Heavy, gray thunderheads hung over the hills, still threatening.Two purple field orchids bloomed stalwart on a grassy hillside, and flamboyant trees, in full brilliant orange bloom throughout the valley, defied the gray thunderheads.In the beginning, a creator God made something out of nothing.

At Kikoshi, we found a group of 10 young men busily entering names, and figures from notebooks onto photocopied forms.This was a team of volunteers from Vanga, conducting a nutrition survey. The survey team visited every home, measuring the height, weight and arm circumference of every child under 5 years of age, and of every pregnant and nursing woman –all those most vulnerable to malnutrition.Willy introduced me to them. Their dedication impressed me.They had walked out to those villages, carrying on their heads and backs, notebooks, scales, and heavy measuring equipment, along with a bit of food and belongings ... accomplishing something with not much at all.

Once Willy satisfied himself that the team was doing its job adequately, we walked across the village to the church building – a cement block structure, with open windows, and bamboo poles across the doors to keep goats and chickens out.A group gathered to meet with us.They had taken on the responsibility of learning some basics of nutrition in order to help their neighbors.There was no difference between any individual in this group and the average citizen of Kikoshi, except that most were Christians, attending the village church regularly.Otherwise, they were all unemployed, farmers, with many children, and subsisting on what they harvested from their sandy, infertile fields.Their job was to visit homes and follow up on families where children were identified as underweight.Had these children come to the monthly pre-school clinic to be weighed?Were they vaccinated?Did their families have gardens?Was the mother sick?Was the father home?In concert with the chief, the village had been divided into sections of 15 houses each. One man and one woman were chosen to oversee the nutritional status of those living in each section.In previous visits to Kikoshi, Vanga nutritionists had trained these volunteers.Can this group of citizens possibly combat the problem of malnutrition in Kikoshi's children with almost nothing?They are made in the image of the creator God.

Malnutrition is a major problem overshadowing villages surrounding the Vanga Hospital.The nutrition center at Vanga has powdered milk formula for the care of severely malnourished children, but there are insufficient resources to care for the large numbers of mildly to moderately malnourished children.Even if these resources existed, they would engender an unhealthy dependence on the nutrition center.Yet, the soil in the area is sandy, overused, and poor.Population pressure has circumvented the traditional system of allowing fields to lie fallow periodically.Forests, where soil is fertile for gardens, have been cut down.Aside from green leafy spinaches, peanuts, and pumpkin seeds, there are essentially no sources of protein for growing children.Diseases further drain financial resources, especially in families with several children under 5 years of age. You can't make something out of nothing … or can you?

Willy asked the group how things were going with the Kikoshi "village kitchen". A "village kitchen" sounded to me like an improbable solution for malnutrition in Kikoshi because food was already in such short supply.In a village kitchen, the group combines their efforts to provide a meal twice a week for children and women who qualify.The women prepare the meal.The men coordinate the acquisition of food which is donated by any one in the village, conscientious and able.The group admitted that they were having difficulties making the "kitchen" work, not because they weren't willing, but because of frequent resistance on the part of parents of some of the children.Why should they bother bringing their children to eat only locally available food?No powdered milk! or corn/soy flour for porridge?!They also had difficulty because others in the village didn't understand the motives behind this organization of a "village kitchen".But after more discussion, they decided that Willy would return to Kikoshi next week, and do some house visits with the group.That might help.They would ask the pastor to accompany them as well.They also decided that they might schedule their weekly meetings on one of the days when the women cooked, and they would all join the children for that meal.Eating together is a powerful symbol in Congo of friendship and acceptance.

Can you make something out of nothing?5 loaves and 2 fish wasn't much, but Jesus blessed it.Then, every one ate their fill.The people of Kikoshi have greens, squash seeds, peanuts and manioc leaves, enough for their needs depending on season.They also have manioc and corn flour - almost nothing, really.But if they bring these to Jesus daily, for the sake of the children, He will bless it. Maybe these children will eat their fill, and grow strong, because they took Jesus at his word.

Many of you have partnered with Willy, and the nutritionists at Vanga, by providing financial resources to help children in Kikoshi and other villages.From the Vanga nutrition team, and the people of Kikoshi, Mutanga, and elsewhere, thank you.

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  Pray for Willy, and the others, who labor daily with almost nothing, bringing hope to hungry children.


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  Pray for the work of the Vanga Hospital nutrition center, that those in charge can creatively administer finite resources.


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  Pray for those in Kikoshi, that they will allow God to bless their greens and flour, share it with others, and have the courage to be creative, as ones created in the image of God, making something out of nothing.

With your loaves and fish, take God at his word.Nothing becomes something in His hands, and many will eat their fill, and you will be blessed.

In Christian love,

Katherine